


Behind a Glass Wall

by theawkwardturtleduck



Series: Tumblr Prompts [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen, Implied/Referenced Torture, Mild description of injuries, Mild description of torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-29
Updated: 2017-10-29
Packaged: 2019-01-26 00:39:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12544928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theawkwardturtleduck/pseuds/theawkwardturtleduck
Summary: Fill for this prompt:I heard you were looking for prompts? *evil giggle* Perhaps, if you're interested, you could write an AU where Keith actually does sacrifice himself in 4x06, but he doesn't die; instead, he's just severely wounded and on the brink of death. His actions lead Shiro to hold a vigil over Keith and to question his success as a leader and as a brother/father figure, or romantic partner, to Keith. If you don't want to write this, then that's totally fine :) Have a nice day!





	Behind a Glass Wall

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for the prompt!

Shiro paces the control room as Kolvan watches from the monitor. He wants to hurt Kolvan, to make him suffer one tenth of what Shiro is suffering right now.

“You told us he was dead.”

“We did.”

“You told us you had a body”

“We did.”

“Why.”

“We knew that without such assurance you would not stop looking. You were needed on the front lines, not searching through debris.”

Shiro grits his teeth against the rage that burns hot in his belly. It has been three weeks. Three weeks since Keith sacrificed himself in an effort to take down the particle barrier on Hagar’s ship. Shiro remembers the worm of fear when his congratulations were not answered, and the shock of cold panic that swept into his blood as he found the wreckage of Keiths ship. After two days of searching, the Blade had confirmed that Keith’s body had been found and that they would give him a traditional funeral among the Galra.

Apparently they lied.

“Can we count on your help or not Paladin.”

Shiro wants to snarl that Voltron can rescue Keith themselves now that they know his location, but he knows that they will need the extra support.

“We’re in. But he stays with us once he is safe.”

Kolvan nods his head and the monitor goes blank.

~

The purple lights pulse faintly as Shiro runs through the halls of the prison ship. His hand glows and melts through the centuries that try to block his path. Everything is varying shades of purple and blues that remind him of a bruise. He thinks about his time as a gladiator and the purple that mottled his body after every fight. He thinks about the purple blood of his first victim in the ring. He thinks about the purple lights of Hagar’s laboratory on the day they took his arm. 

Shiro is thankful that all Galra cruzers of the same class have the same layout. It isnt long before he clears his sector and meets up with the rest of his team on the level meant for housing prisoners. The entire floor smells like blood and vomit and waste. The prisoners are crowded in small cells and the light is dim.

“Shiro?”

Shiro turns and feels his chest ache when it is not Keith who called him. It is an alien prisoner whose eyes are wide with disbelief as his three hands grip the bars of his cell.

“You you Shiro, are you not? Keith said you would come.”

Shiro feels his heart pound at the news.

“My team will get you and everyone else out. Tell me where Keith is.”

“They took him for questioning several hours ago. Find him quickly Shiro, he will not live much longer under their care.”

Shiro only hears the echo of the last words as he runs to the interrogation room.

~

Shiro runs through the halls of the cruzer. First left, fifth right, second left, third left, fourth right. He remembers his time as a prisoner and the many trips he took to this very room in his early captivity. He has to fight to keep his mind in the present as memories threaten to overttake him. Finally, he reaches the interrogation room and slows.

When the doors open, Shiro forces himself to clear the room before running to the man hanging by his wrists in the open center. Keith’s armor has been taken, and the undersuit has been pulled down to his hips, leaving his chest and back bare. Blood drips from the whip marks on his back, and his left leg is obviously broken. His breaths are shallow and slow, and Shiro calls out to the rest of the team their location before scooping Keith up in his arms. He unclips Keith’s hand cuffs from the hook that hangs from the ceiling and retraces his steps through the ship and back to his lion.

~

Shiro feels blank. He looks down at Keith’s face which now has a long scar from the top of his left eye down to the right corner of his mouth. He watches Keith’s chest rise and fall in sleep and feels nothing. 

After three days in the healing pod, the chamber had opened and Shiro had caught Keith as he fell, still unconscious. It has been three days more, and Keith still has not woken. Coran told Shiro that the healing pods could heal any physical damage, but they could not reawaken a soul.

Shiro sits by Keith’s bedside, holding his hand, and waits. He knows its coming. He feels like all his emotions are kept behind a glass wall, and he knows that wall is going to shatter. 

He thinks back to the day that Keith carried him out of the quarantine tent back on earth. He thinks about the first time they all formed Voltron. He thinks about how he pushed leadership on Keith without ever asking what Keith wanted.

A crack in the wall.

He thinks about all the times that he told Keith he would be a great leader, and then about all the times he undermined him as the black paladin. He thinks about how he insisted on Keith keeping his position as black paladin, only to second guess every decision he made.

A crack turns into a spiderweb.

He thinks about all the times he dismissed Keith’s point of view or questioned his priorities. He thinks about all the times that he let the other paladins disrespect Keith simply because he did not agree with his methods.

The glass breaks, and Shiro feels tears form in his eyes for the first time.

“I’m so sorry.” He whispers, bowing his head to hide his face in the blankets by Keith’s hips.

Shiro holds Keith’s warm hand and cries until his head is aching and his tears are spent. He falls asleep with Keith’s hand held in his.

~

The castle system is in night mode and the lights are dim when Shiro wakes. At first he doesn't realize what woke him, but then he feels the hand in his squeeze gently and looks up to find Keith awake and smiling gently at him. Shiro is surprised that his body has any more tears to supply, but this time, they are tears of relief.

**Author's Note:**

> Come talk to me on tumblr at theawkwardturtleduck!


End file.
